US kids play doctor with street needle

2011-03-31 17:04

Massachusetts - School officials in Massachusetts say two elementary schoolchildren were given medical attention after they played doctor with a hypodermic needle that one of them found on the street on his way to school.

Superintendent Catherine Latham tells The Daily Item of Lynn the second-grader at the Tracy School used the needle to give a friend a pretend flu shot last week. Both were poked.

She called the incident "greatly distressing". Both students sought medical attention but she said she could not disclose their medical conditions because of privacy laws.

In response, the school and police put together a presentation telling students not to pick up needles or other dangerous items they find on the streets, including guns, knives and lighters.